England Under 21’s Should Be Proud Win Or Lose Tonight

by Paul Bestall on June 29, 2009 ·

Fresh from giving England fans palpitations after Fridays semi-final win against host nation Sweden, England’s young lions have a chance to win some silverware for the junior lions for the first time since 1993. England Under 18’s triumphed that year, riding a week long wave of growing optimism and support to beat Turkey 1-0 in front of 25,000 fans in Nottingham. Tonight’s Under-21 final pits England against its greatest rivals of the modern era, Germany, in a repeat of the final Group A game.

England of course, will be missing three players. Joe Hart has failed in an appeal to get his second booking recinded after shadow boxing one of the Swedish players in the penalty shoot out. Agbonlahor also picked up a second booking and Campbell was sent off in extra time after receiving two bookings. Normally, that would be a big blow for any side, but with Theo Walcott desperate to finally get his tournament going, and a straight choice between Scott Loach or the very highly rated Joe Lewis, Pearce has the talent to fill the gaps.

It also seems to put a bit of a mockery on the claims that English youth football is suffering due to the influx of foriegn players. Pearce has led this side to the semi finals of the last two tournaments, with players such as Mark Noble, Gabriel Agbonlahor, James Milner and Theo Walcott at his disposal. These are not just players desperately thrown in to fill gaps, these are quality players, with plenty of Premiership experience between them.

Can they win tonight? Of course they can, the reserve team drew with the German side a week ago, so they will have not given anything away to their opponents. I’ve also seen that the Germans have changed their kit to red tonight to give them a psychological advantage which oddly means they’ve completely forgotten about Englands 5-1 destruction of Germany in Munich in September 2001. That night, the Senior side tried the same trick to stop England wearing red, but ultimately it blew up in their faces.

Of course the crucial thing here is not to put too much pressure on the side and the players if they can win tonight. England Under 21’s had a golden period in the early 1980’s, winning the competition twice in a row, 1982 and 1984. Those players perhaps didn’t move onwards as much apart from Trevor Steven and Mark Hateley perhaps but Howard Gayle, Paul Walsh and Mel Sterland never really made the step up.

There’s no doubt that the England Under 21’s side have shown that their are some positives for the future of English football, despite the doomongers and pessimists that worry constantly about the lack of English players at the Big 4. Of course we’d like to see more English talent given a chance, but Manchester United have always championed English talent, Liverpool have 2 or 3 outstanding prospects coming through also.

Pearce will be looking to bring the trophy home tonight from Malmo and improve his fast rising reputation in the England set up. His passion and pride for his country can never be questioned and before the team leave the dressing rooms tonight, Pearce will instill them just what winning this tournament will mean for these players.

The Latest EPL Transfer News

With the opening of the new EPL season just around the corner here is a look at some of the latest transfer news in England.

Chelsea still trying to land Robinho
Nothing has been completed as of yet but Chelsea is still hopeful of landing the Real Madrid attacker. Supposedly, the only thing standing in the way of this move is the ability of Real Madrid to secure a replacement ofr Robinho.

Robbie Keane to Liverpool
A very controversial transfer as Tottenham accused Liverpool of doing business under the table. The deal has been done though and the Liverpool-Tottenham matches this season should be real crackers. Expect Keane to be paired with Torres up top in a frightening duo for opposing defenses.

Peter Crouch to Portsmouth
Portsmouth landed the tall Liverpool striker who was looking for more playing time. He'll get that at Portsmouth and expect a breakout year with the newfound confidence.

David Bentley to Tottenham from Blackburn
Expect this move to really bolster Tottenhams midfield, but a stronger midfield will be needed following the departure of Robbie Keane.

Adebayor to stay at Arsenal
After all the offseason speculation, it seems Emmanuel Adebayor will remain at Arsenal and sign a new deal. Both Barcelona and AC Milan were long-rumoured targets of the striker this summer.

Chelsea appeal UEFA bans for Drogba & Bosingwa

Chelsea today revealed their determination to stand toe-to-toe with UEFA over the punishments which followed their rancorous response to Champions League defeat at the hands of Barcelona.

Precisely a week after European football's governing body confirmed the Londoners would fight the bans handed out to striker Didier Drogba and right-back Jose Bosingwa, as well as an £85,000 club fine, the Blues revealed the reasoning behind their appeal.
A statement read: "We have today lodged an appeal against the UEFA bans given to Didier Drogba and Jose Bosingwa, and the fine imposed against the club.
"We believe these punishments are unnecessarily harsh given the circumstances.
"We would reiterate that the players and the club are acutely aware of our responsibilities towards setting a good example as role models and upholding the values of the game.
"That is why honest and sincere apologies were made swiftly after these regrettable incidents occurred.''
On June 17, Drogba was given a six-match ban - the last two suspended for two years - for his foul-mouthed confrontation with referee Tom Henning Ovrebo at the end of Chelsea's 1-1 Champions League semi-final second-leg draw with Barcelona on May 6 - a result which sent the English side out on away goals..
UEFA's control and disciplinary body also handed a four-match ban - the last game suspended for two years - to right-back Jose Bosingwa.
The Portugal defender labelled Ovrebo a "thief'' after the same game, while the club received a fine of £85,000 for the improper conduct of their players and for the throwing of missiles by their supporters.
It all followed a controversial clash in which Ovrebo turned down a number of strong penalty appeals by Chelsea, which may have proved decisive before Andres Iniesta's injury-time decider for the Catalans.
A date for an appeal hearing has yet to be revealed by UEFA.

Rooney vows to replace Tevez and Ronaldo

Manchester United might have lost forward pair Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez this summer, but Wayne Rooney is vowing to step up and fulfil his attacking potential next season in an effort to lessen the blow.

After admitting he has not been given the chance to shine so far at Old Trafford, Rooney believes he can compensate for the summer exodus of attacking talent from Manchester United and ensure the reigning Premier League Champions retain their title.
''We've lost two key players and obviously I hope we can get a few players in,'' Rooney told The Times.
''Between them Cristiano and Carlos scored a lot of goals for us last season and the season before, but I would like to think I'm capable of filling that gap.
''I've said before that, if I can play in my right position, I'm capable of doing that.''
Rooney has often been asked to operate out wide by manager Sir Alex Ferguson since joining from Everton.
The 23-year-old is adamant that has prevented him from showing his best form on a consistent basis, and believes the time is right to make a permanent switch to the centre.
''I want to play in the position where I feel I'm best,'' he said. ''A lot of people think I'm best as a centre forward.
''To play in a Champions League final and to play week in, week out for Manchester United is a privilege and it's something I'm very lucky to be doing, but I don't think playing on the wing I can express myself as much as I like to.''

Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez hopes Samuel Eto'o rejects Manchester City's overtures and opts to stay at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez hopes Samuel Eto'o rejects Manchester City's overtures and opts to stay at the Camp Nou. City are believed to have made a £25million offer for the Cameroon international and are reportedly willing to pay him a staggering £250,000-a-week wage. Barcelona president Joan Laporta had revealed at the weekend that City had made a 'stratospheric offer' for the 28-year-old although Eto'o's agent, Josep Maria Mesalles, insists his client wants to stay at the Nou Camp. Xavi told Sport: "Fortunately there are intelligent people at the club. Last season everything was sorted out well. "We know that he is capable of and this season we have had so much from him, he is a vital player. "I do not know what will happen, but if it was down to the players we would consider him to be the number one priority." Eto'o's agent, Josep Maria Mesalles, had earlier said on ONA FM: "If there is not a 180-degree turnaround then he will stay with Barcelona."

Nike Soccer Commercial - Good vs. Evil

Beaten but unbowed Bradley hails improving U.S.

USA coach Bob Bradley saw his side throw away a two-goal lead over Brazil in Sunday night's Confederations Cup final - but then warned the world that his men are becoming genuine contenders on the global stage.

The South Americans were in all sorts of trouble less than half an hour into the final at Johannesburg's Ellis Park thanks to goals from Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan, and went into half-time trailing 2-0.
But Luis Fabiano halved the deficit almost immediately after the break and then drew his side level with 16 minutes to play, before a late header from Lucio broke American hearts.
''The feeling is of great disappointment, but also of great pride. When we get past the disappointment, we know we are making progress,'' said Bradley.
''We will learn from these kinds of experiences and these kind of games, but it doesn't make it any easier on the night. It's been a experience for our team, playing the teams we played and to get to the final.
''But beyond that, the experience for our players in South Africa has been very special. It's something we'll remember and give us motivation to be back here next year for the World Cup.''
Brazil coach Dunga never doubted his side could stage a rousing comeback.
''To overcome a 2-0 deficit is never easy, but if you have committed players that never give up, you always have a chance and we showed that tonight,'' Dunga said after his team successfully defended the title they won in Germany four years ago.
''I think all the players were still focussed on what needed to be done. Being two goals down after 27 minutes, they were still sure of themselves. We were very determined and simply wanted to win.
''The US has always had a competitive team. They are a very tactical team, very disciplined and very physical team. It's always difficult to beat them.''
Asked about his half-time team-talk, the 45-year-old continued: ''I said to them at half-time that something was lacking. A lack of good positioning, so we corrected that and we started pressurising our opponents, with the reward of a goal by Luis Fabiano.
''I brought on two faster players and we also brought on Elano, a very tactical player, and went forward making use of the wings better and scored.''
Man of the match and player of the tournament, Kaka, was modest after receiving his awards, saying that praise should be given to the whole team.
He said: ''The most important thing as I've always said is to win as a unit. All of that happened and Brazil was the champion.
''If it hadn't been for the team I wouldn't have been the best player or the man of the match.''